Linda Lyndell – What A Man

The song reached #50 on Billboards R&B chart on August 24, 1968.

From Wikipedia

What a Man” is a song written by Dave Crawford, and originally recorded for Stax Records‘ Volt imprint by Linda Lyndell, The song was sampled and reinterpreted as “Whatta Man” in 1993 by Salt-n-Pepa with En Vogue; the version became a commercial success. In 2011, the German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut (credited as Lena) covered the song while retaining the original title and lyrics.

Linda Lyndell, a white singer who had been a support act with James Brown and Ike & Tina Turner and then recommended to Stax Records by Otis Redding, recorded “What a Man”. The song was essentially improvised by Lyndell, record producer Dave Crawford, and the Stax studio musicians in Memphis, Tennessee. It was released as a single in 1968 with the B-side track “I Don’t Know”; both songs were credited to and produced by Dave Crawford. The single entered the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart on August 24, 1968 and then peaked at number 50. The record came to the attention of white supremacists in the Ku Klux Klan, who threatened Lyndell for associating with black musicians; as a result, she largely withdrew from the music business for the next 25 years.

What A Man